CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 2. PASSERES. 
181 
the occiput. It is found in Java, Sumatra, and the great Eastern Islands. Insects and fruits form 
its food ; it is easily tamed, and learns to whistle and talk with facility. It is fond of cherries 
and grapes. If a cherry be brought and shown to it, and not given to it immediately, it will cry 
like a child. It will also sing and chatter like a parrot. With the natives it is a special favorite ; 
it is sent to China in great numbers ; it is also sometimes brought to Europe and America, and is 
kept as a pet in cages, Marsden says that it has the faculty of imitating human speech in greater 
perfection than any other of the feathered tribe: Bontius tells the following story: there was, 
when he was in Batavia, an old Javanese woman, the servant of a Chinese gardener, who kept 
one of these birds, which was very loquacious. Bontius was very anxious to buy it, but this the 
old woman would not listen to. He then begged that she would at least lend it to him that its 
picture might be taken, a request which was at last granted with no very good grace, the ancient 
Mohammedan dame being under great apprehension that Bontius would offer the abomination 
pork to her beloved bird. This he promised not to do, and had the loan of the Mino, which 
kept continually saying, " Orang JSTasarani Catjor Macan BabiP This, being interpreted, means, 
"Christian Dog, Eater of Pork;" and Bontius came to the conclusion that the nnwillingness of 
the old woman arose not only from the fear of her bird being desecrated by an offer of swine's 
flesh, but also from the apprehension that he or his servants, irritated by its contumelies, would 
wring its neck. M. Lesson gives an account of one he saw at Java which knew whole phrases 
of the Malay language. The Javanese call this bird Meo and Mancho ; another species Eulahes 
Indicus, is said to exist, of the size of the European blackbird. 
THE BUPHAaiN^ OR OX-PECKERS. 
This group includes only a few species of birds, inhabiting the warmer parts of Africa, and be- 
longing to the genus BUPHAGO. The best known is that of the Common Ox-Pecker or Beef- 
Eater, so called from its habit of perching on the backs of cattle, and extracting the larvaj of the 
bot-flies, by which those quadrupeds are commonly infested. The French call it Fique Boeuf ; 
the scientific name is B. Africana. Singular as the diet we have mentioned may seem, it is said 
to constitute the principal nourishment of these birds, and the bill is certainly peculiarly adapted 
for gently squeezing the parasites out of the tumors caused by their presence. The cattle are 
said to allow the birds to perch upon them Avithout any signs of unwillingness, which is indeed 
the case in respect to several other species which devour the insects found there. The Com- 
mon Ox-Pecker is a small bird, about eight or nine inches in length ; its plumage is reddish-brown 
above and yellowish-white beneath ; the legs are brown and the bill yellowish, with the tips of 
both mandibles red. It is generally seen associated in small flocks of seven or eight individuals, 
and is exceedingly shy. 
THE STURNIN^ OR TRUE STARLINGS, 
The True Starlings are for the most part inhabitants of the eastern hemisphere, only the genus 
Sturnella belonging to America. In these the bill is usually elongated, rather slender, and taper- 
ing, the wings and tail rather short, the toes long and stout, and furnished with acute claws. 
Genus STURNUS : Stur7ius. — This includes the Common Stare or Starling of Europe, S. 
vulgaris — Etourneau of the French — a well-known, handsome, sprightly bird, often tamed, and as 
it can be taught to whistle tunes and articulate a few words, it is a favorite pet. It nestles in holes 
of rocks and buildings, and in hollow trees; the nest is composed of twigs, straws, grass, and roots; 
the eggs are four, of a pale blue tint. It is eight and a half inches long, of a black color, with 
violet and green reflections, and spotted with buff. After breeding time, the starlings assemble, 
often in immense flocks, and roost among the reeds in fenny districts, sometimes crushing them 
down by their weight, like grass after a storm. They are common in Europe, and we often see 
them mentioned as familiar birds in English books. They are stationary, except that in severe 
winters they move for a short distance southward. They have particular haunts, where they as- 
semble in vast multitudes. From October to March, many thousands of them roost in a mass of 
thorn-trees in the Zoological Gardens of Dublin. 
Genus PASTOR: Pastor. — This includes theRosE-coLORED Pastor — Martin Boselin of the 
French — P. roseus, resembling the starlings, and, like them, found living in the vicinity of cattle and 
